Cirdadian Rhythms: From Cell Cycle to Sleep
Dr. Irina Zhdanova
Mon Jan 25, 01-02:30pm, E25-401
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
Different circadian rhythms, critical for the survival of the individual cells and of the multicellular organism as a whole, will be discussed. We will be talking about the development of the circadian system, the physiological mechanisms involved in its regulation, and the consequences of their disruption.
Contact: Dr. Irina Zhdanova, E25-604, x3-6706, irina@crc.mit.edu
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Exorcising the Homunculus
Whitman Richards
Wed Jan 27, 01-02:00pm, E10-013
No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event
An alternative to the homunculus is Minsky's "Society of Mind", where a collection of semi-autonomous agents collectively decide how a system will behave. Aggregating the various opinions of the agents, however, is a non-trivial task. Without constraint, such collective systems tend to exhibit chaotic behavior, which is seldom rational. The outcome is dramatically improved, however, when the agents share similar models of the world.
Contact: Whitman Richards, E10-120, x3-5776, wrichards@mit.edu
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